3 die in Indiana County trailer fire

A charred bicycle sits near the completely destroyed mobile home Sunday, May 18, 2014, along Independence Lane in Colonial Court in White Township. A fast-moving overnight blaze took the lives of two adults and one child.

Evan Sanders | Tribune-Review

A charred bicycle sits near the completely destroyed mobile home Sunday, May 18, 2014, along Independence Lane in Colonial Court in White Township. A fast-moving overnight blaze took the lives of two adults and one child.

Evan Sanders | Tribune-Review

Charred bicycles sit near the completely destroyed mobile home Sunday, May 18, 2014, along Independence Lane in Colonial Court in White Township. A fast-moving overnight blaze took the lives of two adults and one child.

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Nicole Novak recently started a new job and was teaching her special-needs daughter sign language.

Her husband-to-be, Shawn Marsh, 28, kept busy with his tree service business in Indiana County.

All three perished in a fast-moving fire at 3:30 a.m. Sunday at their mobile home in White Township. Gabriella Novak, 9, was found with her mother, 27, and Marsh in a rear bedroom, along with two family dogs, according to Coroner Jerry Overman Jr.

“They were both good parents,” said Novak's stepfather, Rich Morrill of Butler.

Two other children — Shawn Jr., 7, and Eva, 10 — spent the night with relatives and weren't home at the time of the fire, Morrill said. State police fire marshals are investigating. Neighbors reported an explosion.

Morrill and his wife, Denise Morrill, stood stunned at the scene hours later at the intersection of Independence Lane and Keystone Drive in Colonial Court, not far from Indiana Borough. They looked over the home's blackened insides and melted kitchen appliances, wiping away tears and talking to neighbors.

A child's lime green bicycle lay on the grass, and two other bikes leaned against a tree. Rich Morrill hoped to salvage the items for the remaining children but had to abandon the plan because the bikes were damaged.

Neighbors and friends Amanda Rearick and Jamie Mason said they knew the family for about three years. Rearick said Novak was teaching sign language to Gabriella, who had a nonverbal form of autism.

“She was a really sweet little girl,” Rearick said. “(Novak) was really close with Gabby.”

The girl liked to draw, play video games and watch cartoons, Rich Morrill said. Novak recently began working at a pharmacy in the area, he said. Marsh was a hard worker, he said, and the couple was planning a wedding.

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